Between 23-25 July, 2018 my colleague Em (Mr. Udomsak
Pariwatpan) from the MAP Thailand team and I, together with eight CBEMR network
representatives from Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi and Trang Provinces in Thailand celebrated
Mangrove Action Day or the International Day for the Conservation of the
Mangrove Ecosystemon the 26th of July by learning and sharing experiences on
community-based mangrove conservation and restoration at Pred Nai Community,
Trat Province on the eastern coast of Thailand. Our CBEMR members gained valuable knowledge
from the Pred Nai Community who have over 30 years of experience in participatory
mangrove management.The highlight of
the trip was visiting the 7.2 hectares of restoration site which the villagers started
to restore 9 years ago in abandoned shrimp ponds back to natural forest again.
This mangrove restoration project was a concrete example of a conservation
group allocating their own community conservation funds to buy the abandoned
shrimp ponds and return them back mangroves.Through their experience, Pred Nai members have become well-equipped in
community-based practices and have developed a strong community organization working
as a learning center for the region and even at the national and international
levels as well.

One outstanding concern made by Uncle Yai (Mr. Amnuay
Chumanee), one of the conservation leaders at Pred Nai, concerned how to
transfer their conservation awareness to the Pred Nai youths so what they’ve
achieved is not lost.This is clearly an
important issue looking forward for the sustainability of the conservation
group and the work they carry-out.

Participants from the Andaman CBEMR network were asked to reflect
on the key lessons learnt which they will be taking home while at the Kung
Krabaen Bay Royal Development Study Center, an excellent mangrove restoration
area with boardwalk in Chantaburi Province before returning home. Most of the members observed and emphasized
the importance of the strong community organization at Pred Nai, which is not
only a conservation group but also includes collaborating with all the other
groups in the community.The community mangrove
forest regulation needs to be practical but not conflict with official law and
strictly enforced by the local conservation committee.Another learning point shared at the meeting
was that the learning center management needs to collect high-quality accurate information
and be able to be clearly presented to visitors groups with the
participation of local people in all aspects of the process. As learning center is one of our CBEMR members
projects which members plan to develop in their own community so that local
people can validate the information and proudly present from their own personal
experience.

Besides all the lessons the group learned from this study
trip, I think the trip was a great success because the relationship between MAP
and the participants have become stronger through the time we spent
together.I am very confident that we
will continue working together as a small network and that we will grow strong
as we follow the motto “small but strong”.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

We need your help - Vote for your favorite mangrove photos!
GLOBAL - Throughout the month of July, we asked for and received stunning photos from around the world for our 4th annual global photography exhibition We would like to thank each and every person who contributed to this project! Vote for your favorite photos to decide which will receive the People’s Choice Award. There's still time to submit your photos! We've extended our photo contest until August 15th - send in your photos here. Or use #mangroveactionday to submit photos on Instagram! Donate to Protect MangrovesProtect mangroves and the coastal communities that rely on them. Join MAP by pledging to defend mangrove forests today! READ MORE

GLOBAL

Why mangroves matter: Experts respond on International Mangrove Day
GLOBAL - The importance of the protective mangrove buffer zone cannot be overstated. Mangroves are living buffers against the forces of storms and waves that can otherwise devastate a coastline. In regions where these coastal fringe forests have been cleared, tremendous problems of erosion and siltation have arisen, and terrible losses to human life and property have occurred due to destructive hurricanes, storm surges and tsunamis. Today there is a growing urgency to recognize the importance of conserving and restoring protective mangrove greenbelts to lessen the dangers from future catastrophes, because as oceans warm and sea levels rise, so will the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and storm surges. Seeking the most effective path toward long-term mangrove conservation and recovery, Mangrove Action Project (MAP) promotes the concept and practice of community-based ecological mangrove restoration (CBEMR). This holistic approach to mangrove restoration views the proposed plant and animal communities to be restored as part of a larger ecosystem, connected with other ecological communities that also have functions to be protected or restored. READ MORE

Trash Hero recognised by UN Environment
GLOBAL - From the icy splendour of the Arctic to the inky depths of the Mariana ocean trench, plastic waste is threatening our seas, killing our wildlife and polluting our food chain. The facts are undeniable: each year more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans. According to one estimate, 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic by the middle of this century. It is a sobering picture, but working together we can change this narrative. And we can take inspiration from individuals across the globe who are doing all they can to stem the toxic tide and advocate for long-term changes that will permanently redefine our relationship with plastics. To celebrate World Oceans Day, we’re profiling a few remarkable people who are fighting the good fight for our seas. READ MORE

AFRICA

Integrated Rice–Mangrove Cultivation brings Renewed Hope to Farmers.
WEST AFRICA - Rice–mangrove integration, also known as rice agro–silviculture, is a best practice employed in several African countries such as The Gambia, Guinea and Senegal as a smart way of sustaining food security while increasing resilience to climate impacts and promoting biodiversity conservation. In other countries, this practice concentrates on rehabilitating abandoned rice farms and managing soil and water. The USAID/West Africa’s Biodiversity and Climate Change Program (WA BiCC) approach involves planting mangroves on the edges of rice farms to prevent the loss of farmland and crops to erosion as well as to protect crops from pests. This initiative was piloted in 2017 in selected communities in Sierra Leone’s coastal areas. The intervention initially met a great deal of apprehension from community members. But now, eight months into the pilot program, beneficiary-farmers are beginning to see the potential for rice-mangrove integration. A climate change vulnerability assessment, conducted by WA BiCC in the coastal landscape of Sierra Leone in 2016, revealed that about 1% of mangrove forests in the Sierra Leone Coastal Landscape Complex are depleted annually. READ MORE

The value of mangroves in Kivalo
MADAGASCAR - The west coast of Madagascar boasts the largest and most intact stretches of mangrove forests in the WIO region. These forests are home to endangered endemic birds and provide shelter and breeding grounds for marine species that are critically important to local livelihoods. Mangroves also serve key ecological functions, from protecting coastlines to maintaining water quality. Despite their importance, large swaths of mangrove area have been lost, and these ecosystems remain underrepresented within the Madagascar protected area system. Indeed, the Tsiribihina-Manambolo mangroves area has been identified as a WWF priority landscape To preserve this area, WWF implement a landscape conservation programme which aims to establish an effective community-based natural resources management, and to improve traditional fisheries. READ MORE

ASIA

Trash Hero Partners with MAP
THAILAND - Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Scientists have tried to measure just how much plastic ends up in our Oceans and found more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year. This significantly impacts on marine wildlife, who often mistake marine debris for food and clog their intestines or they become trapped in plastic waste and discarded fishing nets. Plastic pollution affects nearly 700 different marine species with over 100 million marine mammals and turtles in the North Pacific being killed every year by plastic in the Ocean. The plastic problem is not much bigger anywhere else than in Thailand where they are ranked 6th among countries in the world with the highest amounts of plastic production and usage. Thailand has been recently plagued with two high profile deaths of a rare pilot whale and endangered green turtle whose autopsies both showed stomachs packed with plastic. The whale, specifically, had around 80 plastic bags found in its stomach. This led the basis for MAP-Thailand's most recent Environmental Education (EE) class on Thursday 19th July 2018 held at Bang Kang Khao school, Sikao District, Trang. READ MORE

On our love affair with Malaysian mangroves
MALAYSIA - No matter how sturdy they seem to be, or how eerie they may appear, mangrove forests deserve vigilant attention and tender loving care. Caring for mangroves is a simple, straightforward love affair. Just by setting them free from vicious anthropogenic disturbances, they in return shall unconditionally defend and serve us to the best of their ability. As a matter of fact, they have been doing this for a very long time. Mangrove forests provide multiple ecosystem services and benefits to humans and nature. Their full functions and roles are still way beyond our understanding. But a miniscule portion of their gifts have been identified by scientists, and many more aspects are yet to be discovered. Some of their documented functions are as a regulator of various natural cycles and processes. For instance, mangroves are identified as the most efficient tropical habitat to capture and fix atmospheric carbon in the pursuit to mitigate the increase in temperature and to adapt to global climate change. They are also able to efficiently absorb and sustain water and precipitation. READ MORE

Vietnamese farmers are migrating en masse to escape climate change
VIETNAM - At the Southern end of Vietnam lies the Mekong Delta. It’s Vietnamese name, Cuu Long means “Nine Dragons,” referring to the nine rivers that come from six countries, and meet there, ending a journey of several thousand kilometres to the sea. The Mekong Delta is the most fertile area in Vietnam, and also the most fragile. It is the country’s rice bowl, and it is now slowly sinking into the sea. The Mekong Delta is the only place in the entire river basin where rice can be grown and harvested 7 times a year. But climate change and other human activity has begun to turn this oasis into a waste land. The delta is rapidly urbanizing and that is requiring more extraction of groundwater to provide for the needs of a burgeoning population. The water extraction projects have caused many local waterways to sink and dry up providing seawater an entry way into the delta poisoning the rich soil. Meanwhile, erosion and drought is affecting productivity while leaving homes and infrastructure to collapse. READ MORE

This shocking chart shows the true impact of plastic on our planet
PHILLIPINES - In February of 2018, a dead sperm whale washed up on along the picturesque shoreline of Cabo de Palos in Spain. Officials noted that the whale was unusually thin, and a necropsy confirmed that the whale died from an acute abdominal infection. Put simply, the whale ingested so much plastic debris – 67 lbs worth – that its digestive system ruptured.Today’s infographic comes to us from Custom Made, and it helps put the growing marine debris problem in perspective. VIEW GRAPHS

AMERICAS

Let’s celebrate mangroves and blue carbon!
EL SALVADORE - Did you know that mangroves act like a water and air purifier for our Earth? They make up what are known as ‘blue carbon ecosystems’ that include tidal marshes, mangroves seagrass and the marine life that live within them. Together they make up the ocean’s natural infrastructure that captures and stores carbon. Less than 0.5% of the coast is covered by this ecosystem, yet it is responsible for “70% of the carbon permanently stored in the marine realm.” But these ecosystems are rapidly diminishing, and their preservation is essential to the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of people worldwide, like in the Lower Lempa of El Salvador. This year, we are celebrating our joining the International Partnership for Blue Carbon, a network of over 30 governmental, research and nonprofit institutions working to preserve and protect coastal blue carbon ecosystems. READ MORE

LAST WORD

Dear Mangrove Action Project,

I hope this email finds you well and that you’re having a nice week.

My name is Ella Morgan, and I am a Researcher at the BBC Natural History Unit in the UK. We have just started production of a 5-part, four-year natural history project about plants, that we are currently calling ’Green Planet'. This will have a similar scope and ambition to our recent series Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, and will build upon our work in the 1995 series ‘The Private Life of Plants’.

I am currently in the process of digging out stories about the world’s most spectacular plants, in terms of their behaviour and interactions with other organisms, and have been particularly looking into mangrove stories. I have heard about a few interactions that I would love to know a bit more about, and was wondering if you might be able to help. Do you know about otters fishing in mangroves in Malaysia? If so, where and when might be able to film this? Also, are there macaques that go swimming for crabs in the mangroves? If so, where is this? Finally, where would be the best place to film fireflies flashing in mangroves?

Do you have any other suggestions, or contacts who it might be worth me reaching out to about some more detail on these topics?

Thanks so much in advance for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you,

ACTION ALERT

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
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ACTION ALERTS

Sign on: letter to the Chief Minister of Sabah, Malaysia - To stop the destruction of communities’ mangrove area in Pitas and support indigenous communities to protect and conserve the last remaining 1000 acres of their forest - SIGN HERE

READ A MOSAIC OF LIFE
Peek into the underwater world of mangroves, "womb of the sea." By Liz Cunningham Photos By Wes Matweyew and Liz Cunningham

Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE

SHARE MAP'S VISION CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".

Our short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves

Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum

The Marvellous Mangroves Education Forum is an online hub for those utilizing the Marvellous Mangroves (MM) Curriculum. It gives students, teachers and anyone interested in mangroves, the opportunity to learn and share ideas themed around the curriculum, to connect and communicate with others around the globe whilst exploring mangroves from your computer or on the go. VISIT

The award-winning Marvellous Mangroves (MM) curriculum educates children on the importance of mangroves and their ecological functions, teaching them about modern challenges and mechanisms for sustainability. VIEW VIDEO

MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE

Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT

FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HEREMAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves

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It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. —Mahatma Gandhi

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Monday, July 30, 2018

Written by Kate Knight, Office Development & Field Project Assistant (MAP-Asia Intern)

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental
issues of our time. Scientists have tried to measure just how much plastic ends
up in our Oceans and found more than 8 million tones of plastic are dumped
in our Oceans every year.This
significantly impacts on marine wildlife, who often mistake marine debris for
food and clog their intestines or they become trapped in plastic waste and
discarded fishing nets.Plastic pollution affects nearly 700
different marine species with over 100 million marine mammals and
turtles in the North Pacific being killed every year by plastic in the Ocean.
The plastic problem is not much bigger anywhere else than in Thailand where
they are ranked 6th among countries in the world with the highest amounts of
plastic production and usage. Thailand
has been recently plagued with two high profile deaths of a rare pilot whale
and endangered green turtle whose autopsies both showed stomachs packed with
plastic. The whale, specifically, had around 80 plastic bags found in its
stomach!

This led the basis for
MAP-Thailand’s most recent Environmental Education (EE) class on Thursday 19th
July 2018 held at Bang Kang Khao school, Sikao District, Trang. In total 25
children and 4 teachers took part in the afternoon class. We are, as ever,
grateful to our funder the LUSH Charity Pot Foundation but also to Trash
Heroes, Trang Chapter, who collaborated with MAP to provide a fun and
insightful Environmental Education class. Trash Heroes is an International Non-Profit
Organization, that organize beach clean ups across the globe as well as raise
invaluable awareness around waste reduction and waste disposal. The Trang Chapter,
organizes weekly clean-ups of Pak Meng beach in Trang and are involved in supporting
the construction of a bamboo school in Kanchanaburi by providing eco-bricks for
wall construction. The bamboo school is
not yet complete but has so far used over 2000 ecobricks, made from waste
collected by Trash Heroes Trang.You may
ask “What is an Ecobrick?”Please read
on to find out!

Students and teachers attended
the Environmental Class organized by MAP and Trash Hero Trang.

The event started with a PowerPoint presentation from MAP,
that included provoking photos and videos about marine debris and plastic
pollution. Students sat engagingly and interacted by answering quick fire
questions from Ning, MAP-Thailand’s Field Officer and presenter on the day.
Students learned about how long it actually takes for plastic and other types
of waste to degrade and about how plastic pollution affects the environment and
wildlife. Stories from Thailand, such as that of the pilot whale that washed up
on the Gulf of Thailand with a gut full of plastic, was used to illustrate the
growing problem that plastic causes for the environment locally and across the
world.

Students eager to
answer questions on plastic pollution from Ning

After this, Trash Hero took over, to organize a series of
educational games. First, was an exercise on the correct way to dispose of
different types of waste. Students were split into teams and given a variety of
types of garbage. They had to place each piece into the right ‘bin’ – recyclable,
non-recyclable, electronic or hazardous waste and compostable. It became
apparent to MAP and Trash Hero staff that students actually had little
knowledge around this and most often did not differentiate between recyclable
and non-recyclable rubbish, despite having the different types of bins at the
school. Students learnt a lot from the exercise and they are now armed with the
knowledge to put into practice what they have learnt when at school, at home and
in their wider community.

Secondly, students were given a demonstration on how to make
ecobricks from empty (PET) plastic bottles and plastic wrap, bags and waste.The idea is to utilize all those types of
plastic materials that are presently non-recyclable in Thailand and normally are
burnt or sent to landfill sites. Students really enjoyed making the ecobricks
using bamboo sticks to stuff the bottles and compress the plastic till the
bottles are very solid. The plastic must
be clean and dry and it was discovered a huge amount of plastic can be
compressed into a single 1.5 L bottle.Students
took home what they had started in the class along with the equipment needed to
complete the ecobrick. They now have the knowledge and materials to continue
making ecobricks from plastic waste at home and at school. Bang Kang Khao School
has agreed to set up a collection point for ecobricks made by the students that
MAP can collect when they visit the school and ensure they are handed over to
Trash Hero for construction of the Bamboo School in Kanchanaburi. Students can feel proud to actually help build
a school for orphans far away.

Students enjoying
making ecobricks from plastic waste and empty plastic bottles.

Both girls and
boys took part in the activity.

A big effort was
noticed from all students, especially in compacting the plastic.

Students were shown a video on ecobricks that included
footage of the ecobricks being used to construct the Bamboo School in
Kanchanaburi. This helped students conceptualize how plastic waste, ordinarily
a negative for the environment and huge eye-sore, can be repurposed to build
something constructive and positive. Trash Hero spent time to explain how
different waste is reused in different ways; plastic can be used to form
ecobricks and Tetra Pak packaging can be used to make roof tiles. TatraPak
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., are a leading manufacturer of UHT Beverage Boxes made
from plastic and aluminum foil that are extremely popular throughout Thailand
but also very difficult to recycle. They have partnered with other
organizations such as the Thai retail giant Big C to create collection points
for the UHT boxes, where they are then used to make roofs as part of their
Green Roof Project.

Overall the environmental education was very successful. Students
were engaged and learned a lot about the ever-pressing issues of plastic
pollution, its impacts and some solutions to mitigate these impacts. Between
MAP and Trash Heroes Trang, the important three Rs - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle –
were continually reinforced. Students who attended the class were given
stainless steel cups to use for drinking and explained how to use them to
reduce the use of single use plastic bottles. We hope to be able to collaborate
again with Trash Heroes Trang on other Environmental Education classes and also
on the possibility of creating a plastic free school model in the future.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Mangrove Action Day is July 26, 2018
GLOBAL - As part of this years Mangrove Action Day we are raising awareness of the connections people have with mangrove forests by creating a global photography exhibition. Throughout the month of July, we have asked for and received incredible photos from around the world. We invite you to send us your best photos for a chance to be part of a special exhibition that will help spread the importance of mangroves. Special prizes this year for our three chosen winners. Scroll down to get inspired by some mangrove themes and find out other ways in which you can get involved! WAYS YOU CAN ACT READ MORE

AFRICA

Forest conservation efforts in Madagascar making poor people even poorer
MADAGASCAR - New research investigating conservation efforts in Madagascar says some 27,000 people are suffering from restrictions aimed at maintaining tropical forest. The study, published in the PeerJ journal, suggests that people living in the protected area have not been fully compensated and their incomes are affected as a result. The Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor, in eastern Madagascar, is part of a pilot project under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme supported by the World Bank. The REDD scheme aims to protect forests as part of the fight against climate change. The project is being implemented through a system of World Bank safeguards and as such is supposed to compensate local people for the impact that conservation restrictions have on their income. The study is not suggesting that conservation efforts should be stopped, instead it is calling for forest dwellers to be properly compensated for the impact conservation has on their livelihoods, in particular on traditional agricultural practices. READ MORE

African deforestation: 'If nothing is done, we may lose everything'
DRC - Africa's tropical forests, which include the Congo Basin, are under constant threat. Deutsche Welle speaks to Proforest's Abraham Baffoe on what stands to be lost and what needs to be done to tackle deforestation. Africa's tropical forests include the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin, a sprawling rainforest often referred to as the world's second set of lungs. The continent's forests store 171 gigatons of carbon, are home to many plants and animals that exist nowhere else in the world and support an estimated 100 million people. Abraham Baffoe, Africa regional director at Proforest, speaks to Deutsche Welle about the threats facing these forests and the urgent work that needs to be done to tackle deforestation. READ MORE

ASIA

Ban Nai Nang apiculture training workshop held
THAILAND - On July 1st, 2018, Mangrove Action Project and Nai Nang Apiculture Group hosted a “How to do” beekeeping training workshop for new communities interested in this supplementary livelihood. There was a total of 32 participant trainees who came from 3 different villages that MAP currently has a mangrove restoration project in: 12 people from Bang Kang Khao village, Sikao District, Trang; 4 people from Thung Yor village, Klong Thom District, Krabi; and 16 people from Kong Lu village, Muang District, Krabi. The workshop provided a great opportunity for Nai Nang trainers to disseminate some of their valuable knowledge and for other villages to learn about how the group has become so successful with their apiculture enterprise, with the hope of being able to replicate it in their own village. This livelihood training workshop was kindly funded by the LUSH Charity Pot, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetic company. READ MORE

In North Sumatra, farmers prefer mangroves to oil palm
INDONESIA - In a coastal village in Langkat regency, a three-hour drive north from North Sumatra's capital of Medan, locals have started to reap the benefits from the hundreds of hectares of rejuvenated mangrove forests that had previously been illegally converted by companies into oil palm plantations. After securing a forest management permit in March 2017, Lubuk Kertang farmers and fishermen have constructed 20 eco-friendly ponds to farm shrimps, crabs and several local varieties of fish, as well as to produce snacks and syrups from mangrove leaves and mangrove apples. They also plan to construct an ecotourism site. As part of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration's social forestry program, a permit was issued by the Environment and Forestry Ministry to Kelompok Lestari Mangrove, a group of 108 Lubuk Kertang farmers and fishermen, to manage 410 hectares of mangrove forests for a period of 35 years. READ MORE

Local approach tackles coastal erosion in Jambi
INDONESIA - Local methods are being used by residents and environmental groups to tackle coastal erosion in the Berbak Sembilang National Park in East Tanjung Jabung regency in Jambi. Various methods are being applied in accordance with the conditions and characteristics of each village where the abrasions take place, local group Gita Buana Association head Taufik Hidayat said. Since last year, local residents of Remau Baku Tuo, Air Hitam Laut and Sungai Cemara villages in Sadu subdistrict planted as many as 30,000 mangrove seeds along the coastal line of the villages. They also used bamboo fences with zig-zag or arrowhead patterns to protect the plants from sand, mud and wood waste deposited by the ocean. “It has proven to be a success by as much as 70 percent,” Taufik said.READ MORE

Subsidy offered for growing mangroves
INDIA - Forest Minister K. Raju has said that private individuals will be offered subsidy up to ₹4,000 an acre for implementing the scheme for protecting mangrove forests in the State. Inaugurating the Mangrove Study and Research Centre and the Biodiversity Park at the at Kottila Government Higher Secondary School here on Saturday, the Minister said the government would pay the subsidy if the individuals were willing to plant mangrove saplings. The government was also willing to take over privately held lands under mangrove vegetation if their owners were prepared to transfer them for conservation. Mr. Raju said Kerala being one of the States with high forest area, the extent of forest had increased by 250 hectares over the past two years. This included mangrove areas in Kannur and Kasaragod districts declared forest areas, he said adding that mangrove afforestation was more effective and less expensive than building sea walls to protect areas from sea water flooding. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Mangroves to mudflats and not back again
USA - Over one-third of Earth's population lives with 100 km of a coastline and depend on the services that coastal ecosystems provide. Hurricanes can provide valuable sediments and nutrients that promote plant growth and increase the stability of some coastal ecosystems. However, storm surge, saltwater intrusion, wind, and extreme rainfall can knock down forests, lead to erosion, and transform plant communities. This can lead to an abrupt and irreversible ecosystem transformation In a southwestern section of Everglades National Park, hurricanes may have contributed to the conversion of mangrove forests to lower-elevation mudflats. The mangrove forests offer some protection from storm surge and can provide habitat stability. Long-term transformation to mudflats would have serious effects on the ability of coastal wetlands to persist against hurricanes and rising sea levels United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have measured surface elevation changes in these mangroves and adjacent mudflats for nearly 20 years, including changes brought on by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. Michael J. Osland, a USGS research ecologist, will speak on this research at the 2018 ESA Annual Meeting in August. READ MORE

The miracle of mangroves for coastal protection in numbers
USA - The North Atlantic hurricane season officially opens June 1, and there are predictions that storms this year could be worse than average again. That would be bad since last year was the costliest year on record for coastal storms. Communities and countries across the Caribbean and SE USA were particularly hard hit. The need for resilient solutions to reduce these risks is paramount. There has been growing though largely anecdotal evidence that mangroves and other coastal habitats can play important roles in defending coastlines. Nonetheless it has been difficult to convince most governments and businesses (e.g., insurance, hotels) to invest in these natural defenses in the absence of rigorous valuations of these benefits. So in 2016 The Nature Conservancy teamed with the World Bank and scientists from the public, private and academic sectors to identify how to rigorously value the flood protection benefits from coastal habitats. READ MORE

OCEANA

Mangroves and their deforestation may emit more methane than we thought
AUSTRALIA - Mangroves, the dense tangled forests that buffer land from sea in many coastal areas of the tropics, are renowned for their ability to store carbon and help fight climate change. But new research finds mangroves may emit more carbon as methane than previously estimated – emissions made even worse by deforestation. The ability of mangroves to sequester carbon in the ground – termed “blue carbon” – is unparalleled, with previous research finding a tract of mangrove can bury 40 times more carbon than a similarly sized area of rainforest. But what exactly happens to this carbon once it’s in the ground has been something of a mystery. So scientists at universities in Australia decided to find out by examining the soil carbon stored beneath mangroves in Queensland. Their results, published in Science Advances, reveal that mangrove soil carbon doesn’t remain stored in perpetuity. Some of it is transformed from carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4) by tiny microorganisims called archea, and is then released back into the atmosphere. Methane has a much bigger warming impact than carbon dioxide – 34 to 86 times more powerful – so even a bit of methane has the potential to offset mangrove CO2 storage. READ MORE

WORLD

The world is losing vital forests quicker than ever
GLOBAL - Global Forest Watch detected that especially tropical forests continue to be chopped down. In 2017, 40 football fields of tropical tree cover were destroyed — every minute. The Democratic Republic of Congo, where part of the world's second-largest rainforest is located, saw a record tree cover loss in 2017 The Central African country lost 1.47 million hectares of tree cover in 2017 due to agriculture, charcoal production and mining In Brazil, 4.5 million hectares of forests were destroyed, down 16 percent from a record high in 2016, but still higher than any other year, the report said. Despite negative trends in most tropical forests around the world, there is one positive story: Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country managed to reduce its tree cover loss by 60 percent in primary forests in 2017, compared to 2016 when wildfires caused the highest tree cover loss on record. The sharp decrease is due to the fact that by 2017, el Niño had passed, but also due to improved government efforts to protect forests, said Putera Parthama, representative of Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry. READ MORE

Indigenous communities practice effective forest conservation, but remain excluded from policy
WORLD - The world today is in the grip of an existential crisis in more ways than one. The future of the Blue Planet has never before been clouded with more ominous portents. Yet some of its oldest inhabitants and indigenous peoples perhaps have been the best guardians of its natural resources, and a new report only confirms this. It is the indigenous peoples who have “long stewarded and protected the world’s forests, a crucial bulwark against climate change.” The report 'Cornered by Protected Areas' by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Janis Alcorn and Augusta Molnar, and the Rights and Resources Initiative, released on 27 June in Oslo, said the rate of tree cover loss is less than half in community and indigenous lands, as compared to elsewhere. Where community rights to own their lands are legally recognised, the difference is even greater. Worldwide, community lands hold at least a quarter of above-ground tropical forest carbon—equal to four times the global greenhouse gas emissions for 2014—and likely much more. Yet in countries like India, attempts to gain community forest rights are met with red tape. In forests in Karnataka and elsewhere, local communities face relocation as their traditional lands are taken away to conserve tiger habitats. READ MORE

Investing in indigenous communities is most efficient way to protect forests, report finds
WORLD - The best way to save forests and curb biodiversity loss is to recognize the claims of indigenous peoples to their territories, a new report urges. Published by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), an international NGO headquartered in Washington, and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the UN special rapporteur on indigenous rights, the 28-nation study compares conservation outcomes in lands controlled by indigenous groups against those in government-managed “protection zones.” “This research shows that indigenous peoples and local communities are investing substantially in conserving their forests — up to $1.71 billion in the developing world,” the authors write. The figure amounts to between 16 and 23 percent of what the conservation establishment — governments, multilateral organizations, bilateral aid agencies, NGOs, foundations and private entities — spends each year. Through labor and capital put toward managing, protecting and rehabilitating forests, indigenous communities were found to achieve equal or better conservation outcomes — at a significant discount. READ MORE

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READ A MOSAIC OF LIFE
Peek into the underwater world of mangroves, "womb of the sea." By Liz Cunningham Photos By Wes Matweyew and Liz Cunningham

Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE

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Our short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves

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Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum

The Marvellous Mangroves Education Forum is an online hub for those utilizing the Marvellous Mangroves (MM) Curriculum. It gives students, teachers and anyone interested in mangroves, the opportunity to learn and share ideas themed around the curriculum, to connect and communicate with others around the globe whilst exploring mangroves from your computer or on the go. VISIT

The award-winning Marvellous Mangroves (MM) curriculum educates children on the importance of mangroves and their ecological functions, teaching them about modern challenges and mechanisms for sustainability. VIEW VIDEO

MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE

Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT

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